Wednesday, June 26, 2013

There is a new flowering shrub for your garden and its name is Spirea Double Play 'Big Bang'.
Massive pink blooms against glowing red spring foliage and bright yellow summer foliage
make this plant a must have in the garden.'Double Play' Spirea exhibit both colorful foliage and large robust flowers that are larger than any spirea flower I have ever seen. Massive pink blooms reach up to three inches across as compared to one and a half inch blooms of traditional spirea.

Double Play®Big Bang Spirea Mid-Spring Foliage

Spirea 'Double Play' is a deciduous low mounding shrub hardy to zones 4-9. It prefers to be grown in part to full sun in a slightly acidic well drained soil. Spirea 'Double Play' grows to a height and width of 24-36 inches and exhibits a low compact mounding habit. Blooms emerge from new growth in spring so spirea can be pruned in late winter before flowering or after flowering in late summer. Once established this shrub is relatively low maintenance and is also drought tolerant.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Welcome to my June garden! There is much to see this spring with lots of blooms everywhere.With a slow start this year there was even more anticipation than ever and now the gardens are alive with color. Come along and walk with me.

Salvia May Night

Here is the local bumble bee enjoying the nectar of the May Night Salvia. It took me a while to get this photo for bumble bees do not pose but I got it!

Viburnum 'Summer Snowflake'

The 'Summer Snowflake' Viburnum are starting to flower and will continue to do so throughout the season.

Daylily 'Stella D Oro'

The Daylilies are late opening this year but this lone flower popped open just in time for Bloom Day. I am enjoying my newest camera with a 45x zoom lens to get these close ups.

Garden Love!

﻿The tour wouldn't be the same without a visit to the garden gal and boy. The Sedum ground cover should be blooming in front of them soon.﻿

Double Knock Out Rose (Pink)

The Pink Knock Out Roses are blooming all at once after the heavy rains we have been getting recently...﻿
﻿

Hosta, Salvia May Night and Lamb's Ear

and the Salvia 'Maynight' and Stachys (Lamb's Ear) is flourishing as well.

Double Knock Out Rose (Pink) and Nepeta

Here are my Red Double Knock Outs along with Nepeta 'Walkers Low'.

Poolscape with Western Arborvitae in Backdrop

After the storm (Hurricane Sandy) we lost the White Pines behind the pool waterfall and had to replace them. I went with 12-14 foot Western Arborvitae which gave us an instant screening and we are happy that the garden is now restored. It was heartbreaking to have to rip out those majestic trees but they had been declining for some time and the winds and salts had wiped them out. After quite the day getting the new trees in all is good and the garden is back to normal again.

Poolscape in June

Spirea 'Limemound' Bloom

Here is my Spirea 'Limemound'. I love it for its colorful foliage all summer and for its delicate pink blooms.

Hosta 'Patriot'

Around the side of the property is this 'Patriot' Hosta. Apparently it is very happy in its location. I have always thought of 'Patriots' as being slow growing...but not this one!
﻿

Perennial Garden

Back around to the patio area by the house is the perennial garden. The Lamb's Ear and Salvia are blooming with the Astilbe and Daylilies close behind.

Lampost Garden

The Nepeta 'Walker's Low' are doing very well this year with all the spring showers we have been getting. You can see it here in the backdrop on the right.

﻿

'Yaku Jima' Maiden Grasses in Sunny Section of Garden

The grasses are Sedum are flourishing as well due to the extra rain we have been getting.

Hakonechloa Macra (Golden Japanese Forest Grass)

Gold Lace Juniper and Heuchera

Back around to the front yard gardens there is a huge Blue Atlas Cedar surrounded by Juniperus 'Gold Lace' and a combination of Heuchera-'Palace Purple' and 'Caramel'. New cultivars of Heuchera keep coming out and I am enjoying having them in the gardens, especially the 'Caramel' which even takes the sun.

Driveway Garden Planting Full View

Here is another view of the lamppost garden with Golden Oriental Spruce, Barberry and Nepeta.
﻿

Spirea Double Play 'Big Bang' Bloom

New to the garden this year is a new cultivar of Spirea called Double Play 'Big Bang' and it certainly lives up to its name! I am so thrilled with this new plant with both its foliage and robust blooms unlike any Spirea I have ever seen. It is like a light show of color.
﻿

Spirea Double Play 'Big Bang' June Foliage

Thank you for visiting my June
garden. I will be sure to visit you as well. After a long and difficult winter
the garden is alive and I am enjoying it every moment I can. It has been a busy time for my husband and I but after this post I will be retiring from 32 years of teaching (and he from 31 years). We are both looking forward to enjoying more quiet time in the solitude of our gardens and I will have more time to keep up on the garden tasks which I love. Please stop by and visit our
hostess Carol at May Dreams
Gardens to see
what others have blooming in their gardens. Happy Garden Blogger's Bloom
Day.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

It is June and my Long Island garden is at its prime with blooms of peony, roses and salvia alongside colorful evergreen shrubs in shades of blue and gold. The peony are displaying the largest blooms I have ever seen and the roses are blooming profusely and it all seems to have happened almost overnight. The gardens were set back later than I have ever experienced with the occurrence of Hurricane Sandy in November of 2012 followed by a nor'easter a week later and a winter blizzard in 2013. The gardens seemed like they would never recover but as the temperatures finally started to warm into the 70's and the rains came down in May rather than April the gardens have come to life once more and are doing just fine.

June Perennial Garden

Paeony 'Karl Rosenfeld'

Evergreen and Perennial Garden

Raised Garden Berm

Roses and Chives

Siberian Iris

Double Knock Out Rose Red

Peony and Salvia

Salvia 'May Night'

Double Knock Out Rose and Nepeta

Paeony 'Karl Rosenfeld'I hope the gardens continue on this track for the remainder of the summer and into the fall. It's funny how "Mother Nature" works.They seem to have re-adjusted themselves and are now back on schedule to this gardener's delight. I am looking forward to what is yet to come.As Always...Happy Gardening!Author: Lee@A Guide To
Northeastern Gardening, Copyright 2013. All rights
reserved

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Welcome!

Welcome to A Guide to Northeastern Gardening. I am a landscape/garden designer, consultant and published book author of "A Guide to Northeastern Gardening-Journeys of a Garden Designer" and "Landscape Design Combinations". Involved in the horticultural field since 1996, I started this blog so that I could share my love of gardening with others. Join me for over 200 articles on general gardening, landscape design principles, gardening tips, planting, pruning, garden maintenance, feature plants and more. I look forward to and welcome your comments and will try my best to answer any questions that you may have. Thank you for visiting and do come back often! Happy Gardening! ~ Lee (A Guide to Northeastern Gardening)

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About Me

My husband and I live on the South Shore of Long Island, New York. I am a retired educator of 32 years, have been designing landscapes since 1996, and am the owner of my own landscape design business. My love of spending time in the garden has been and will always be a part of me. I started off by designing the gardens of friends and neighbors. With the encouragement of friends I decided to further my education in horticulture and design and became a landscape designer. I started up my business which grew by word of mouth and became what it is today. With shovel in hand since the age of five my love for creating now continues. When not designing I can be found in my own gardens planning the next addition...a never ending process. "A garden is an extension of its owner...a thing of beauty that constantly changes and can be enjoyed forever..."

Plant Hardiness Zone Maps

Hardiness Zones 3-9

The plants discussed in this blog are mainly hardy to zones 3-9. See individual plant details and the zone maps below for more information. An interactive USDA Map is located in the top navigation bar.